The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, the production company 302 Stories and writer-director Michael Oates premiered their co-produced nature documentary, “Wetlands of Wonder: The Hidden World of Vernal Pools” on Friday.

The 54-minute film features a trip into regional bays called vernal pools, which are wetland ecosystems found in Delaware, Maryland and Virginia. The movie is airing on the department’s YouTube channel.

Vernal pools — also known as coastal plain seasonal ponds — are isolated wetlands that emerge in shallow depressions in the ground around forests, seasonally flooded woodlands or flood plains. They provide benefits to water quality and help sustain species across the Delmarva Peninsula.

“Vernal pools are typically small in size but provide enormous ecological value to a wide variety of species,” department Secretary Shawn M. Garvin said. “This film captures the uniqueness of this little-known wetland type by putting audiences in contact with rare species found in and around forests, woodlands, flood plains and even underwater.”

Mr. Oates and his partners, including staff of the Wetland Monitoring and Assessment Program and the Division of Fish & Wildlife, give up-close and underwater footage of the daily behavior of species that live in vernal pools. This includes Delaware’s rare and endangered species, like the Eastern tiger salamander, the barking tree frog, yellow-eyed grass and the bog button.

The film also includes monitoring efforts by scientists to track changes that impact species in these areas. Further, “Wetlands of Wonder” features interviews with environmental staff and students who work to improve research on the topic.

Additional partners for the film included the Delaware Forest Service, the University of Delaware, the Delaware Nature Society, Eastern Mennonite University and Virginia Vernal Pools. Funding was provided by the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration through DNREC.

More information can be found here.